This invention relates to a basketball retriever device and more particularly to a basketball retriever device capable of being utilized from different shooting positions.
Basketball retriever devices of various types are known in the art, as illustrated in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
1,765,259, Hatley, June 17, 1930;
3,776,550, McNabb, Dec. 4, 1973;
3,917,263, Wiley, Nov. 4, 1975;
4,291,885, Cohen, Sept. 29, 1981;
4,579,340, Jenkins et al, Apr. 1, 1986;
4,667,957, Joseph, May 26, 1987.
All of the above patents, except the Wiley patent, disclose large net-covered ball collectors mounted beneath the basketball basket for receiving and discharging basketballs shot toward the basket, whether the basketball passes through the basket or not.
McNabb, Wiley, and Joseph disclose various types of chutes or ramps located beneath a discharge opening in a basketball collector for guiding the ball by gravity toward the shooter. The ramps 92 in FIG. 5 of the Joseph patent incorporate a pair of parallel rails upon which the ball travels by gravity to a position adjacent the shooter.
Other basketball retriever devices are disclosed in the prior art cited in the above cited patents, and specifically the McNabb U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,550, the Cohen U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,885 and the Joseph U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,957.